Braised Venison With Chilli And Chocolate

Total Time: 2 hrs Preparation Time: 30 mins Cook Time: 1 hr 30 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 4
• 1 kg diced venison
• olive oil, for browning
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1 carrot, diced
• 2 celery ribs, diced
• 1 parsnip, diced
• 3 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 dried chili, crumbled
• 250 ml venison stock (or stock made from bouillon cubes)
• 163 ml red
• 50 g dark chocolate, chopped
• 1/2 tablespoon red currant jelly
• 325 ml full-bodied red
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 sprig fresh rosemary
• 8 sprigs fresh thyme
• 1 fresh red chile, deseeded and finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 5 juniper berries, crushed
• salt and pepper

Recipe

• 1 preheat an oven to 190°c/gas 5).
• 2 cut the venison into 2.5cm cubes, removing large bits of fat or gristle. put these into a double-layered plastic bag, along with all the marinade ingredients. set aside for a day in the fridge, turning every so often so that all of the meat comes into contact with the marinade.
• 3 when you are ready to cook, remove the venison from the marinade, setting the marinade aside for later.
• 4 heat a large casserole over a high heat until it is smoking hot. pour in a tablespoon of olive oil and when it is very hot add the venison cubes, 6 or 7 at a time, so that you are not overcrowding the pan and thus bringing down the temperature of the oil.
• 5 brown the meat on all sides for 1–2 minutes, letting the pan get hot again between each batch and adding more oil if necessary.
• 6 when the meat is all browned, set it aside while you brown the vegetables.
• 7 add a tablespoon of oil to the casserole and sweat the onions for 5 minutes before adding the carrots, celery and parsnips. cook for a further 10 minutes, allowing the vegetables to start caramelising without letting them burn. add the garlic and cook for another 5 minutes.
• 8 return the venison to the casserole, along with the reserved marinade and the rest of the ingredients. bring up to a gentle simmer, stirring to melt the chocolate into the sauce. cook in the preheated oven for about 90 minutes or until the meat is tender and falling apart.